LeBron James:Donald Trump has allowed racists to operate without fear in America January 16, 2018

Lebron James. Photo courtesy NBA

(NATIONAL) -- NBA star LeBron James, a three-time NBA
champion decided to speak out this week about the effects of racism in

(NATIONAL)--NBA
star LeBron James, a three-time NBA
champion decided to speak out this week about the effects of racism in
America
and used Martin Luther King Day as the time to do it

“The state of racism will never die,
but what we cannot do
is allow it to conquer us as people,” James said before the Cleveland
Cavaliers’ game against the Golden State Warriors on Monday night. “We
can’t
allow it to divide us. The guy in control has given people and racism …
an
opportunity to be out and outspoken without fear. And that’s the
fearful thing
for us because it’s with you, and it’s around every day, but he’s
allowed
people to come out and just feel confident about doing negative things.
We
can’t allow that to stop us from continuing to be together and preach
the right
word of living and loving and laughing and things of that nature.
Because would
we want to live anywhere else? I don’t think so. We love this place.”

On Sunday President Trump took the
extraordinary step for a
US President in saying
he is “not a racist” after he was widely condemned for
reportedly
describing some African, Central American and Caribbean countries as
“shitholes” during a White House meeting.

As The Guardian, and other
publications have pointed out,
Mr. Trump has faced claims of racism throughout much of his adult life.

He was one of the foremost proponents
of the far right wing
"birther" fringe movement by continually making a false statement
about President Obama insisting that Obama was not born in the US and
in 1973
the Trump family business was sued by the Department of Justice for
refusing to
rent apartments to African Americans. The suit was settled “without an
admission of guilt”.

Sixteen years later in 1989 Mr. Trump
took out ads in
newspapers demanding the death penalty for five black teenagers who
were
arrested in the rape of a woman in Central Park in New York city.